The houses of a chart in astrology begin with the ASCENDANT (also known as the Rising Sign). This being the sign and degree which was rising on the Eastern horizon at the time of birth. This is the cusp of the first house and all the houses following it go round the chart anti-clockwise. As the natural zodiac begins with Aries, the first house has affinities with that sign, and each house in turn has affinities with its relevant sign of the zodiac. Thus the houses and what each represents, follow the same order as the zodiac, but are expressed according to the sign on the cusps and the planetary placements within.

The six houses below the horizon line of the Ascendant/Descendant are the personal houses, while the six above the horizon are the public houses.

There are three types of houses in astrology. They correspond to the Qualities of Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable. These houses are two sets of opposite houses and as such bear similar attributes although borne out in different ways. For instance, the second house governs personal finances and its opposite house, the 8th, governs the finances of others. Hence there is always some relationship between the opposing pair. The types of houses are:

Angular

Those houses which are formed from the two main axis of the chart, i.e. the Ascendant/ Descendant and the MC/IC namely the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses. These are the most important as they govern the development stages of life: birth, childhood, relationships and achievements. They are the initiating houses where the beginnings begin. Corresponding to the quality of Cardinal.

Succeedent

These are the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th houses. These houses concern the necessary stability as foundations for the implementation of the beginnings of the Angular houses. They tend to have a bearing on the feelings and emotions. Corresponding to the quality of Fixed.

Cadent

These are the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th houses. These houses concern the completion of the processes of the previous types and then allowing for new beginnings. They tend to have a bearing on the mental level. Corresponding to the quality of Mutable.

The parents in the 4th and 10th houses have been purposely omitted, as there appears to be some conflict of opinion as to which parent belongs with each house. Some of the older books of astrology say the fourth house is the mother, the tenth the father, but more recent books have it the other way round. As the moon is the natural representative of the mother and has rulership over the 4th house, it would seem natural to use that house for that parent. Opinion being divided, it can be taken that the 4th house rules the parent who had the most influence during childhood.